Almost Ready...
 
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Almost Ready...
 
CATHY FINISHED SCHOOL last Friday... got most of her seniors to finish their work so they could graduate. HOORAY! No more students, and no more excuses why their work wasn’t finished. At least until August... This week, she has an educational seminar to attend. We will finally be leaving on our trip June 19th, and will be in Santa Monica on the 20th for the actual start of our Route 66 journey. Our next entry to the blog (and pictures) should be posted from somewhere along historic Route 66. DECIDED TO GO NAKED!!!! At least, Harley’s going naked (sans windshield). The windshield idea proved to be a big flop! I installed the Laminar lip windshield attachment, but the wind buffeting was still there at 70-80 mph. After trying different heights and angles of the windshield, with little improvement, I decided to take drastic measures. I gave the windshield a haircut, and cut 4 inches from the top of it! When I reinstalled the Laminar, it seemed to help, but the buffeting was still there. After several talks with Laminar (very helpful), I came to the conclusion that the poor design of the Harley-Davidson tombstone-style windshield and the placement of the mirrors creates turbulent air, causing the buffeting. It’s amazing that poor design of a safety item like a windshield can create an issue so bad that it makes the motorcycle unsafe to drive. Oh, well, another resale item for E-Bay! MORE RANTS... I went to the local Harley-Davidson dealer yesterday to buy a new helmet, since my old one was about 5 years old. I knew better than to go to this dealer, but I didn’t have time to go to my favorite dealer in Chico -- about an hour away. I bought the helmet ($200.00), got it home, and found a big gouge hidden under the visor. Immediately, I took the helmet back to the dealer to exchange it. This is when it got ugly.... They said, “Sorry, no returns on helmets.” After getting nowhere and trying to stay cool -- instead of screaming -- I walked out and decided to call Harley Visa and stop payment on the charge. Then it really got ugly when Visa said they couldn’t help because of the dealer’s policy, and that maybe I should have used my American Express card. WHAT?!!! If you’re ever in California riding north on I-5 towards the Oregon border, and you need a Harley dealer, keep going until you get to Latus Harley-Davidson in Gladstone, Oregon. If you’re traveling south from the Oregon border, keep going to Hall’s Harley-Davidson in Chico, California. There’s no decent dealer between these two....